Two weeks ago, Melissa McCart of Counter Intelligence launched a new feature called “Favorite Five.” In it, she asks local chefs about their – you guessed it – five favorite ingredients and then attempts to use them all in a single meal. She also invites fellow food writers to join her in the challenge; the different takes help to illustrate the versatility of the chef’s favorites. Last time, Melissa and Missy Frederick of the Washington Business Journal took on Chef Gillian Clark’s favorite five.

This week, Melissa invited us to join her in using five ingredients chosen by Chef/Owner Peter Smith of PS7’s. Never ones to back down from a challenge, we agreed to work up a menu that included:

Sorry for the late post… we were too busy frolicking in the cherry blossoms and hosting college friends and generally doing sun salutations to welcome spring and couldn’t be bothered to post this weekend. So, mea culpa and enjoy:

Trend alert – that Hungarian pig is so hot right now. (Aaaah! Look at the curly fur on their ears! Is that a pig or spaniel after a bender?)

The Washington Post is launching TastePost – a “gathering place for Washington area food and drink lovers” which you can gain entry to with an annual $20 subscription. Anyone thinking of joining? We’d love to hear your reviews.

It was a big week for Washington restaurants, as the James Beard Foundation and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington both announced their nominees for their respective 2009 awards. Admittedly, only a portion of our local chefs and restaurateurs were realistically holding their breaths waiting for both, but it was still a dramatic week for the DC dining scene all the same.

Among the Beard award nominees, Washington can proudly lay claim to a number of top-tier nods:

Jose Andres – one of our most recognizable ‘local’ talents after TV appearances on Top Chef, No Reservations and his own Made In Spain – is nominated for Outstanding Chef. Like two of his competitors this year (Dan Barber of Blue Hill in New York and Suzanne Goins of Lucque in LA), Andres is back for another shot at the title after losing out to Grant Achatz of Chicago’s Alinea last year. Though he’s nominated for Minibar, Andres’ new Bazaar in Los Angeles could give him the boost he needs to top Tom Colicchio and the other top chefs in this category.

Komi’s Johnny Monis is also a repeat nominee for a marquee category: Rising Star Chef of the Year. This award highlights a standout chef under the age of 30, and it’s interesting to note that four of this year’s six nominees were also up for the award last year (including Monis), which went to Cafe Boulud’s Gavin Kaysen.

Washingtonians were rightly proud of Central Michel Richard’s win for Best New Restaurant last year, but the closest thing to defending that title we can hope for is a win for Jose Andres’ Bazaar. If I had to guess, though, my money’s got to be on Vienna-native David Chang’s Momofuku Ko.

When it comes to the Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic category, the Washington area absolutely overwhelmed the rest of the region (which includes Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia as well as the District). Three of the five nominees are local favorites: Vikram Sunderam of Rasika, Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, and Peter Pastan of Obelisk. Tough choice!

Even our local journalists received recognition from the nominating committee, with the Post’s Tom Sietsema receiving two nominations and the Post’s Food section (helmed by Joe Yonan) earning a nod of their own.

All in all, a pretty decent showing by Washington chefs, restaurants and writers…especially when compared to the number of nominees recognized from other major cities across the country.

And the RAMMYs? Since they ARE the awards for the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, all of the nominees are obviously going to be local. Reading through the list of candidates for the various awards, it’s sometimes more interesting to look for the folks who aren’t nominated.

The full list of nominees can be found on the main page of the RAMW site, but it’s worth noting the absence of several of the aforementioned Beard nominees – Johnny Monis and Peter Pastan – as well as local favorites like Michael Landrum. Why, you might ask? It’s easy to assume, as one anonymous commenter did over at Metrocurean, that someone at RAMW is holding a grudge against these talented chefs.

But the answer is actually pretty straightforward and simple. In order to be nominated for a RAMMY, you have to be a member of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. A quick look at their current membership list confirms that Komi, Obelisk, and the Ray’s family of restaurants are not members and are therefore ineligible for consideration.

That being said, the lists of nominees for key categories like Upscale Casual restaurant and Rising Culinary Star are definitely made up of some of the brightest culinary lights in the area…there are very few categories this year where one nominee is a clear favorite.

Have you taken a look at the nominees yet? If so, what do you think – any glaring omissions or definite standouts?

Keep an eye on the RAMW site – several of the categories, including Neighborhood Gathering Place, Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene, and Power Spot, are open for voting by the public. We’ll put up a link when voting opens – and we may even give a hint or two about our favorites when the time comes.

For now, we offer a heartfelt congratulations to all of the nominees for Beard Awards and RAMMYs. With this much talent in the Washington area, it’s no wonder we’re finally starting to get some of the credit we deserve among foodies across the country.

Maybe it’s a Jersey thing, or possibly a guy thing. Either way, I love me a good sandwich. There are few foods that I approach with such eager abandon as a sub piled high with fresh-sliced cold cuts, slathered with mustard and topped with lettuce, tomato and other assorted veggies.

But there are sandwiches…and then there are sandwiches. Oh, I’ll still gladly tuck into just about any combination of meats, cheeses and bread you offer me, but there’s really only one sandwich I actively crave. For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you when I first became aware of the one they call the Cubano, but since that day it has been the sandwich by which all other sandwiches are judged in my eyes.

Details on this not-s0-guilty pleasure – including how to make them at home – after the jump. (more…)

When a restaurant’s menu focuses on unfussy foods like fish tacos, fresh guacamole and salads, the presence of a chef like David Scribner can be a cause for concern. If the chef is intent on showing what he’s capable of, the simplicity of the dishes can be overwhelmed and even ruined.

Fortunately, Surfside in Glover Park has no such problem. Scribner’s focus on refining, rather than reinventing, results in flavors that are big but balanced. And despite the wide range of influences that make appearances on the menu, Scribner seems to have things well in hand. Dishes come out tasting…right.

We arrived at Surfside for a meatless Friday night dinner, having heard good things about the fish tacos and the overall vibe. Walking in just after 8, we were greeted by a line of people waiting to order and a further crowd awaiting their food while watching for a table to open up. The line moved steadily, giving us just enough time to familiarize ourselves with the ordering protocols: grab an order form that corresponds with the item or items you want, and then check the appropriate boxes before handing it over to the cashier.

Sounds simple enough, right? It is…unless you decide to get creative and go for a make-your-own taco, burrito or salad. In each case, you need to grab a separate color-coded form to fill out your a la carte order. If everyone in your group decides to choose their own adventure, you could find yourself turning in a veritable rainbow of order slips.

Margaritas, guacamole, and some tasty fish tacos after the jump. (more…)

Even at the height of DC’s water quality concerns, Washingtonians were never really in danger of having to go without…it was just a matter of how long we needed to boil what was coming out of the tap before we could actually drink it. UNICEF’s World Water Week seeks to address far more serious water-access issues in more than 90 countries around the world.

And you can help.

This week, almost 100 Washington-area restaurants are participating in this year’s version of the Tap Project. From now through Saturday night, when you dine in these establishments you’ll receive a donation card with your bill at the end of the meal. Any contribution you wish to make will be added to your bill and that amount will be donated to UNICEF’s clean water programs.

Tap DC, the local organization spearheading the effort, encourages diners to think of it as paying for the complimentary water we take for granted when we dine out, and they point out that a single dollar can help to provide clean, safe drinking water for a child for 40 days. If you prefer sparkling water with your meal, consider making a donation equal to the price of that Pellegrino and you’ll be helping even more people!